Thursday, June 02, 2011

Summer's Almost Here..

The Sedin Brothers a.k.a. the Dropsy Twins

June 21st is almost upon us. I can tell as the Finals (finally) of the Stanley Cup are taking place. Not sure how much I'll be watching what with no Devils, nor Phlyers, nor Canadiens, nor reffing in the Finals. Sorry! I AM WRONG. There IS reffing in the Finals, unfortunately not fair refereeing as evidence in Wednnight's last second victory by the home team in Vancouver on a blatant non-call for offsides by the same home team. The only saving grace with that goal was that neither of the Dropsy Twins, was involved with the questionable goal. The last thing I'll say about the Bruins-That Other Team is, "Wait 'til you get to Boston." The fans there would make Philly proud.

Onto a more summer reflective sport, baseball. Great to read this weekend that PNC Park, the gorgeous Pirates baseball stadium situated on the Allegheny River, was picked as the best baseball venue, just easing past Fenway. If you've never had the chance to go there, GO. Great sight lines, absolutely gorgeous views of downtown Pittsburgh (you should go to a day game AND a night game to get the full experience), friendly and helpful staff, great food, and....uhmmm an almost major league team playing there. One of my favorite things about the way Pittsburgh deals with the Pirates games is that they shut down the Roberto Clemente bridge a few hours before game time (as well as the street feeding off of the bridge right in front of the Park) so you can walk around, beer and hot dog in hand and sink into the city experience. As regards the food...some minor issues exist, especially when you compare PNC Park with the Blue Jays' Rogers Centre.

The minute problems @ PNC Park pale in comparison to Citi Field, home of the Mets where the fans (and the rats) have deserted the ship....good to know, though, that the mice have decided to stay behind. Not sure if they're included in the "paid attendance" figures announced at the end of each game....

Low-scoring hockey games tend to try my patience, as well. Throw in this whole business of playing hockey while I'm mowing the lawn, and my interest in the goings-on in either Boston or the Wet Coast is veeeeeery limited.

Word verification is "unsore" -- the state one attempts to reach after lawn-mowing by doing gentle stretches in front of the television.